The hour-long class is the practice following the talk on the same subject. To find out more about the upcoming online course please visit my website: artanvaya.com

This video is actually a recording from the teacher training course I am currently teaching. During the 30mins talk, I was able to explain more in detail the importance of trunk (spinal) movement as well as some of my approaches to this.

Table Mountain near Oroville, California is a wonderful place for spring outing because of all the wildflowers, blooming just for this time on its plateau, and for a few weeks only. I did a short practice in front of a large tree that was split in half from the trunk by the thunder. Although dead, it remains very "expressive" with its outstretched branches. The practice starts with Master Yang's (Calligraphy Health) “Reset” movement and slowly merges into "figure 8" or "infinity" (Master Yang called it “Eel”) movement initiated from the core. The figure can be observed in the upper limbs, but the effort is more on the less visible core trying to move in the same way. The focus of the movement is continuously shifting between different joints while maintaining its connection with the core. The movement continues to Master Yang's “Ribbon”, a wonderful movement that establishes an intimate connection between the core and the elbows… it is from movement like this I discovered the moving from the core naturally resists the pull of gravity. This section is concluded with Yoga Synergy's Spinal movement while maintaining the "figure 8" format. The next phrase is rolling the shoulders forward and gradually evolves to “walking” - a glimpse of how walking can potentially become a great exercise for moving the spine (trunk). The next pattern is “figure 8” but in the opposite direction, with emphasis on lateral spinal extension and axial rotation. Just as in the previous “figure 8”, there are many possibilities to explore various trunk angles and to focus on different joints. This section ends with another round of spinal movement while maintaining the current “figure 8” pattern. This short practice combines several movement patterns that are usually taught separately, and the transition between these patterns is natural without breaking the flow. The intention of the whole practice is to maintain that the movement is initiated from the core, the flow of energy is unobstructed while striving for freedom of movement. I am about to launch an online course focus on “Moving from the Core”. A series of 12 classes conducted on Zoom. Please leave comments if you are interested To know more about what I have to offer visit ArtAnvaya website artanvaya.com Thank you for viewing! #yoga #fitness #meditation #yogapractice #yogainspiration #yogalife #mindfulness #yogi #yogateacher #yogalove #motivation #yogaeveryday #workout #namaste #health #wellness #nature #yogaeverywhere #healthylifestyle #yogachallenge #peace #healing #fitnessmotivation #yogapose #movementismedicine #coremovement #yogasynergy

It was very lucky that the weather in Northern California was rather agreeable enough to practice outside since I was really spoiled by the tropical climate in Taiwan. So in one of those sunny afternoons, I came to this special place where so many world-class performing artists had performed, and did a short practice right above the auditorium, in front of a magnificent stone facade with the face of Zeus (Jupiter).

Use core movement to enter and exit yoga postures Make transitions between postures smooth and undisrupted Create micro-movement to deepen the posture without over-tensing and over-stretching Inspired by the teaching and practice of Yoga Synergy as well as movement disciplines from East and West.  ​

This is my first self practice after teaching a week-long workshop. It was very nice to not having to worry about “teaching someone” and not having to make “clicking sound” all the time.. but honestly I kind of missed my group of students as soon as I started the practice1 Not shown in the video is an elderly gentleman who followed my movement pretty much the whole time! He came to me and thanked me for the “class” afterward... so after all I was still teaching!

I came to Lugano right after my six-day workshop at Rainbow Retreat in northern Taiwan. The pavilion is right off the old town with calligraphy written on the wall. Of course it reminded me of master Yang’s Calligraphy Health. It was a very windy morning and I could not help to worry about my camera and tripod been blown away in the wind!

One of the things I enjoyed and had created so much fond memories is morning practice especially when I traveled. Tainan was the capital of Taiwan from 17th to 19th century and there are so many temples and some are quite magnificent such as this one.

This is a class recording I taught to one of my private students via Zoom. Due to copyright issues I had to delete the music which often provides unexpected cues to either the movement itself or its “tempo” and “intensity”. What is also cut off were my “clicks” which often indicate changes of movement as well as “expansion and contraction” of the front and back of the trunk. The focus of this 47-mins practice is spinal movement initiated from the core and gradually ripples outwards to the shoulders, elbows, wrist, hips and head... and once the whole body is involved in such movement weight-changing is inevitable and natural. Some of the principles I tried to promote in this practice are based on the teaching and practice of Yoga Synergy system and particularly one of its founders: Simon Borg-Olivier: By using movement to promote the circulation of energy without over-stimulate the nervous system. This is done primarily through maintaining natural diaphragmatic breathing and not over-tensing and over-stretching. I found core movement with the emphasis on moving the trunk(spine) provide most satisfying result. In the video I hope to demonstrate such active, natural and unforced movements initiated from the core. And as a result, the movement is curvy instead of linear, and all the body parts seem to find their proper places in the movement. And since all movement starts from core region(between navel and pubic bones), it is relatively easy to shift from one movement pattern to another without making “stops” or “back offs”, even the borders between each distinct spinal movements(lengthening, shortening, flexion, extension, lateral extensions and axial rotations) start to become blurry and can be reduced to the most basic core movement (expansion and contraction) created by the movement of diaphragm.

This video is a live recording from a Zoom class I taught last week. The practice begins by establishing natural breathing, which is a gentle and relaxed abdominal breathing. Such breathing calms the nervous system, softens the belly, and relaxes the lower back, and provides mobility for the core. The natural breathing creates a pair of the most fundamental core movement: the flexion and extension of the body. This movement immediately affects the spine above and hips below. 03'15" I tried to demonstrate how every movement ideally should be initiated from the core: in order to move the shoulders, the movement needs to travel from the core upward through the entire spine before it can reach the shoulders. 04'30" Unilateral movement when initiated from the core creates spinal lateral extension and axial rotation, allows for rich, and three-dimensional movement in the entire torso, and provides infinite possibilities of movement through the interplay of the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. 15'25" The "Nerve Tensioning" exercise, developed by Simon Borg-Oliver and Bianca Machliss of Yoga Synergy, is approached first as a set of five shoulder positions, and eventually, the positions are linked into a continuous movement that shifts its focus to the spine. 18'20" The practice ends with a round of spinal movement I initially learned from Simon Borg-Olivier. This is one of the most effective, stand-alone set of exercises. Many of the issues that characterized the "modern body" such as tight front hips due to sitting, stiff spine, overuse of L5S1, how associated joint movement can at times help the body to move in a certain direction but at other times prevents a joint from reaching its range of motion, are addressed through this set of spinal movement. In this video, each spinal movement is progressing with a series of "spirals" from the core upwards, while the spinal rotation is done in a series of "figure 8" patterns, upwards from the core. Doing these movements this way was initially an experiment, I noticed it brings in more relaxation and allows the movement to grow and seems to increase their longevity. Click to visit ArtAnvaya website: artanvaya.com #yoga synergy #spinal movement #core movement #vinyasa #artanvaya